Photo by Arnold Newman.
“[W]e built a little studio at home to save the drive up and down the M4. And the studio is really very nice — little plug for Eddie Veale of Audiotech because he did a fantastic job and it sounds really nice. You know, because most home studios have a lot of trouble, you know. And it’s not really practical in some cases for people to have a home studio.” - George Harrison, Capital Radio, 1974 “Of all the former ‘Fabs,’ to use his customary term, George Harrison has remained the greatest creative homebody. […] George has rolled out of bed and returned again and again to Friar Park Studios, Henley-on-Thames (or F.P.S.H.O.T., for short) to tinker, compose and do his formal recording. […] Besides 'Cloud Nine,’ George recorded the 'Dark Horse,’ '33 1/3’ and 'George Harrison’ albums in his F.P.S.H.O.T. atelier, located in what was formerly a ballroom of the house. 'The studio was installed round 1971 and there’s been a few updates, cause when I originally put the studio in it was a 16-track. In terms of the monitoring system, after all those years in the Abbey Road EMI Studios, I put in Altec speakers. My experience in Abbey Road was that whenever the Beatles worked there and we thought we had a great sound, we’d play it back on the Altecs and it sounded terrible — ordinary. So they’re very boring in a way — and this must sound strange — but they’re also accurate! See, the Altecs don’t flatter the sound; it’s not easy to get good bass and drum sounds with them. But when I built my studio I didn’t want hype. I wanted what I’m hearing to be what it is. That way, when you play it back anyplace else it sounds fantastic! […] I’ve since made F.P.S.H.O.T. into a 24-track board. […] I’m going to get a few different choice modules made soon, but I don’t really want to go for a brand new SSL board and all that. Automation is nice in some respects, but I got my first skills at Abbey Road, so I prefer the old components, and spending a friendly weekend getting the manual mix you want. Just as I much prefer my ancient Fender Strat.’” - Musician, November 1987 (x)
